Historic Fredericksburg: The Story of an Old Town

This Book is Dedicated
To one who has not failed her friends, or her duty.
Who has given freely of her best.
Whose faith has not faltered, nor courage dimmed.
Who has held high her ideals; who has lighted
a pathway for those she loves.
To My Wife

Contents

In The Older Days		13
One by one the little cabins are built along the river bank

After the Revolution		26
In the days of its glory, the Old Town was famed and prosperous

War’s Worst Horrors		37
Shelled by 181 guns for hours, the town becomes a crumbled ruin

The First Battle		48
When, at Marye’s Heights and Hamilton’s Crossing, war claimed her sacrifice

At Chancellorsville		55
The Struggle in the Pine Woods when death struck at Southern hearts

Two Great Battles		64
The fearful fire swept Wilderness, and the Bloody Angle at Spottsylvania

Heroes of Early Days		70
The Old Town gives the first Commander, first Admiral and Great Citizens

Men of Modern Times		98
Soldiers, Adventurers and Sailors, Heroes and Artists, mingle here

Unforgotten Women		123
Some of Many Who Left a Record of Brilliancy, Service or Sacrifice

At the Rising Sun		133
Where Famous Men Met; and Mine Host Brewed Punch and Sedition

Lafayette Comes Back		139
After Forty Years of Failure, He Hears the Echo of His Youthful Triumph

Old Court Record		142
Staid Documents, Writ by Hands That Are Still, Are History For Us

Echoes of the Past		151
“Ghosts of Dead Hours, and Days That Once Were Fair”

Where Beauty Blends		165
Old Gardens, at Old Mansions, Where Bloom Flowers from Long Ago

Church and School		173
How They Grew in the New World; Pathways to the Light

The Church of England		181
First in Virginia, the Church of England Has the Longest History

The 250th Birthday		188
Fredericksburg Celebrates an Anniversary

Appendix		199

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